Divisional feeder



Sept. 20, 1955 R. HARTER 2,718,281

DIVISIONAL FEEDER Filed April 12. 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet l f4 rra/PA/EYS Sept. 20, 1955 R. l.. HARTER DIVISIONAL FEEDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April l2, 1951 1N VEN TOR. P0557?? /METEE BY R/cf/E x WA 775, 5065270 /w MSA/WNV ATTONEYS Sept, 20, 1955 R. L. HARTER DIVISIONAL FEEDER Filed April l2, 1951 3 'Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

BY //CHE y, WATTS, EDFFTOA/M-fA/FA//VP 4 Troie/vers United States Patent `O DIVISION AL FEEDER Robert Locke Harter, Shaker Heights, Ohio, assignor to Trabon Engineering Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 12, 1951, serial No. 220,609

2 claims. (ci. 184-7) This invention relates to divisional feeders for centralized lubricating systems.

There is described in Reissue Patent No. 21,236, dated October 17, 1939, to D. R. Hillis, a divisional feeder in which the lubricant is received through a single main inlet and discharged sequentially through a number of main outlets. In this feeder, the sequential discharge of lubricant is effected by two multiple stage valves, the stages of the valves being variously inter-connected by suitable passages. The cyclical operation of the valves under the inluence of the lubricant pressure causes the ejection of the lubricant at the main outlets and the switching of the valves for the proper sequence of operation. Each valve includes a plunger and each plunger is held in actuated position by a stop pin which is moved to locking position by the other plunger which is being actuated.

The present invention is concerned with a divisional feeder of improved construction and design. The feeder is formed in a single compact block including three multiple stage valves. The cylinders of the valves and the various inter-connecting passages are formed by simple drilling operations so that the cost of manufacture is minimized. A novel piston is utilized to perform the valving action and, together with a fluid circuit embodying the three Valves, renders the feeder efficient and reliable in operation. Finally, the pistons constitute the only moving parts in the feeder for the third valve performs the locking action of the apparatus of the prior stop pin and also constitutes a part of the delivery system of the device.

An object of the invention is the provision of a feeder.

which will receive lubricant through a single main inlet and discharge it sequentially through a series of main outlets.

An object of the invention is the provision of a unitary i divisional feeder which is simple and economical of manufacture and which may have its outlets reduced in number by simple drilling operations.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a divisional feeder which is compact and adaptable for usev vention will be more readily apparent from a considera-,

tion of the following detailed specification and appended claims, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the divisional feeder of the invention; v

Fig. 2 is an end view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section view of the feeder taken along the plane 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section view of the feeder taken along the plane 4 4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the feeder; Fig. 6 is a view illustrating the disposition of the pas- 5 sages in the feeder body comprising a series of plane sections, taken as indicated in Fig. 5 and shown in exploded perspective; and

Fig. 7 lis a schematic diagram of the fluid circuits of i the feeder.

block 11 of soft steel or similar material. The lubricant to be distributed is transmitted, under pressure, to the feeder through an inlet or supply conduit 12 and from the feederto the various points to be lubricated through outlet conduits 13, 14, 15 and 16. The feeder is mounted in a suitable fashion, openings 17 through the block being p provided for that purpose, while removable plugs 18 prowhich serve as closures for the cylinders and stops for the pistons. y v

The pistons are similar, each including (with reference to piston 22) two sections, comprising body portions 25 and 26, and four enlarged portions or lands 27, 28, 29 and 3 0, respectively, the latter bearing against the cylinder wall so as to form a iubricant-tight connection. The two sec tions of the piston are united by a sleeve 70 which constrains the sections linearly while allowing a suicient amount of exibility to avoid broaching effects. Each piston and cylinder function as an ejector valve, in which the lands of the piston divide the cylinder into several separate chambers to form thev stages of the valve. -Thus the right end land 30 and the right end plug 18 form a vright drive stage or chamber and the left end land 27 and left end plug 18 form a left drive stage or chamber; the right lands 29 and 30 form a right valve-stage or outlet chamber and the left lands 27 and 28 form a left valve stage or outlet chamber; and the central lands 28 and 29 form a central valve stage or chamber. Pistons 23 and 24 are, of course, similar to piston 22 and function in a simi' lar fashion. with the disclosures of copending application, Serial No. 178,271, filed August 8, 1950, by Robert L. Harter.

,In the present embodiment of the invention the longiv' tudinal axes of all three valves 19, 20 and 21 are parallel and those axes of cylinders 20 and 21 lie in the same plane.

ders, two of the cylinders discharge through the same pair of outlets and the third cylinder discharges through the other pair of outlets.

cylinders discharging through one pair of outlets is made the same as the size of the third cylinder.

As shown in Fig. 4, the main inlet 31 is directly connected with the central chamber of cylinder 20, is conopening 32, and is connected with the central chamber of cylinder 19 through opening 100. Since none of these connections is broken by any of the lands on the pistons,`

the main inlet 31 is always connected to the central cham-1 bers of Vall three cylinders regardless of the position of the' pistons in those cylinders. Main outlets 33 and 34 are n vdirectly connected to cylinder 20 at all times regardless.-

Patented Sept. 20, 1955 As is shown in Fig. l, the novel feeder comprisesa single The pistons may be formed in accordance Since there are two pairs of outlets and only three cylint nected With the central chamber of cylinder 21 through 3 of the position of the piston therein. Similarly main outlets 37 and 38 are directly connected to cylinder 21 at all times regardless of the position ofthe piston therein.

The main inlet 31 is alternately connected through each cylinder with the drive chambers of a succeeding cylinder. Thus the main inlet 31 is connected through the central chamber of cylinder 19 with the drive chambers of cylinders 20; and through the central chamber of cylinder 20 with the drive chambers of cylinder 21; and through the central chamber of cylinder 21 with the drive chambers ofy cylinder I9. Also the outlet chambers of each ofthe cylinders alternately connect the outlets of that vcylinder with the drive chambers of a preceding cylinder; that is, the outlet chambers of cylinder 21 alternately connect outlets 37 and 38 with the drive chambers of cylinder 19; the outlet chambers of cylinder 20 alternately connect outlets 33and' 34 with the drive chambers of cylinder 21; and the outlet chambers of cylinder 19 alternately connect outlets 33 and 34 with the drive chambers of -cylinder 20 through the adjacent outlet chambers of cylinder 20.

These connections will be better understood by reference to Figs. 6 and 7.

ln Fig. 6, there is shown a series of plane sections, takenl transversely through the feeder as shown in Fig. 5, the sections being arranged as in isometric projection. The sec-- tions taken have no depth, that is, only the form of the section pla-ne is shown. The various sections b-b through e-e are taken at critical points through the depth of the body of the feeder, that is, in the planes of the openings directed through the length of the body.l Openings transversely through the body are represented by dashed lines, the cross-section of the openings being indicated at the' sections while junctions between transverse and longitudinal or vertical openings are shown by heavy dots at the intersection of the centerlines.

The various openings are formed by drilling from the sides, ends, or top or bottom of the body of the feeder, asV indicated in the various sections. Thus, in the plane b--b, a single longitudinal opening is drilled from the left-end of the block. In the plane c-c, there are formed longitudinal openings which comprise the cylinders 20 and 21; from the top vertically downwards, the main-inlet 31 and opening 32, main outlets 33 and 34 and associated openings 35 and 36, and opening 43; and from the bottom vertically upwards main outlets 37 and 38, and opening 44. In the plane d-d, opening 45 is formed by drilling longitudinally from the left end and openings 46 and 47 from the right end; openings 48 and 49 from the top; and opening 50 from the bottom. Finally, in the plane e-e, there is formed an opening longitudinally through the block which comprises the cylinder 19, opening 51 from the left l end and openings 52 and 53 from the right end of the block, while openings 54 and 55 are formedv from the top and 56 from the bottom thereof.

The above-described openings and connections are indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 7. It will be understood that each of the lines connecting parts of different cylinders of this ligure is made up of a pl'lrality of the openings above-described as is about to be pointed out.

The lubricant is utilized to drive each piston and is supplied to the drive chambers at each end of each cylinder bya connection from the main inlet through a chamber in the mid-portion of a preceding cylinder. Thus the left drive chamber of valve 19 receives lubricant from inlet 31'3 through the central chamber of cylinder 21 and connection 101, the latter including openings 32, I and 54. Similarly the right drive chamber of cylinder 19 is con- Y nected with inlet 31 through connection 102V comprising '5 openings 32, 53 and 56.. The left drive chamber of cylinder is connected with inlet 31' through connection 103i4 which comprises openings 42 and 43. rIhe right drive' chamber of cylinder 20 is connected with themain inlet."

through connection 104 which comprises-openings 55 and prises openings 45 and 48, and the right drive chamber 21 is connected with the main inlet through connection 106 which comprises openings 46, 50 and 47.

The main outlets are alternately connectable with the drive chambers of each cylinder through chambers in the mid-portion of a succeeding cylinder. Thus outlet 38 from cylinder 21 is connectable with the drive chamber from cylinder 19 through the left outlet chamber of cylinder 21 and connection 102 which, as above stated, comprises openings 53 and 56. Similarly main outlet 34 from cylinder 20 is connectable with drive chamber of cylinder 2] through the adjacent outlet chamber of cylinder 20 and connection 105 which, as above stated, comprises openings 45 and 48. Also since cylinder 19 is not provided with direct outlets, lubricant forced out of the right drive chamber of cylinder 20 is delivered to main outlet 34 by Way of the left outlet chamber in cylinder 19 and connec tion 104.

ln manufacture, after the drilling operations, the var ious openings which form the interconnecting passages are closed by means such as a tapered steel plug driven into the opening. Such closures are shown in Figs. 3 and 4, where, for example, the opening 54 is closed by the plug 69. The plugs are ground flush with the surfaces of the feeder body and the entire body then plated.

The manner of operation of the feeder will be described with reference to Fig. 7 wherein the circuit connections are shown in schematic form. The representation of the cyl-l inders, pistons, and position of the connections of the pas sages to the cylinders are, however, intended to be generally similar to the actual apparatus. Pistons 22 and 23 are shown at one end of the stroke while piston 24 is shown at the other end so that the action of the pistons in switching the fluid flow between the various sets of ports is shown.

With the pistons in the position shown in Pig. 7, the

lubricant iiuid ows from the main inlet port through the inlet passage and the cylinder inlet ports into the centrail valve stages or chambers of the three pistons. No action is produced by the fluids in cylinders 19 and 20 since the passages 104 and 105 lead to the right and left drive sta-ges or chambers of pistons 23 and 24 which are locked imposition by the fluid. The fluid does, however, ow from the central valve stage of piston 24, through the right' valve port and passage 101 to the left end of cylinder 19, that is, to the left drive stage or chamber. Piston 22 is thus forced to the right to eject lubricant in the right drive stage through passages 102 and 110 and out the main outlet port 38. Simultaneously, the passage 103 is connected to the inlet passage 100 through the central valve stage while passages 104 and 108 are connected through thc left valve stage. sageA 103 to the left drive stage of cylinder 20 and piston 23, forcing that piston to the right. Lubricant in the right drive stage is thus'forced through passages 104 and 108 out the main outlet port 34. Simultaneously, passage 106 is connected to the inlet passage 100 through the central valve stage and passages 105 and 108 through the left valve stage. The fluid thenA ows through passage 106 to the right drive stage of cylinder 21 and piston 24, forcing that each piston serving not only to eject the Huid but also to aiter' the circuit to energize the next piston.

n'It will be understood from theV foregoing disclosure thatv each cylinder has passages connecting its drive' chambers with the next succeeding chamber, has outlet passages,

opening out of its valve chambers and has drive passage inlets from the next preceding cylinder opening thereinto Furthermore, itV

between itsdrive and inlet chambers. will be noted that each valve chamber is of suflicient axial Lubricant then ows through pas' length to connect the adjacent valve chamber outlet and drive passage inlet and that the inlet chamber is of sufficient axial length to connect the main inlet passage with either drive passage to a preceding cylinder. Furthermore it will be understood that the pistons move successively in the same direction to one end of their strokes and then similarly move to the other end of their strokes.

While four outlet connections are shown, it will be apparent that this may readily be modied. Thus, six outlet connections may be had by connecting the outlet ports of cylinder 19 to separate main outlets (similar to outlets 33 and .34 but not shown) and omitting connections 107 and 108; ve outlets by connecting one of the outlet ports of cylinder 19 to a separate main outlet; and two or three outlets by connecting passages 107 and 108 to passages 109 and 110, respectively, or passage 107 to passage 109.

An important advantage of the location of the axes of the one pair of outlets 33, 37 and the axes of the other pair of outlets 34, 38 on substantially the same line and at substantially right angles to the axes of cylinders 20 and 21 is that the number of outlets may be reduced by the simple expedient of extending openings 35 land/or 36 into cylinder 21 (see Fig. 4). A drill may be inserted through either or both outlets 37 and 38 for this purpose. When, for example, outlets 33 and 37 are so connected through opening 35 and the extension of it, either outlet may be plugged and lubricant will be supplied through the other outlet from both cylinders 20 and 21. Thus the four outlets of Fig. 4 may be reduced to three outlets. These three outlets may be reduced to two by similarly extending opening 36 to connect outlets 34 and 38 and then plugging one of those outlets.

The size of cylinders and pistons is, of course, determined by the desired distribution of fluid between the outlets. l'n the embodiment of the illustrations, cylinder 19 has an area double that of cylinders 20 and 21 in order that equal amounts of fluid be ejected from each main outlet.

The iluid circuit utilized in the present divisional feeder is similar in all essential respects to that set forth in application, Serial No. 196,921, led November 21, 1950, by Robert L. Harter and the design considerations will be similar thereto. The circuit is such that none of the pistons may reach a dead-center position at any point in the operation. Consequently, continuous operation is assured without the utilization of moving parts other than the pistons themselves.

It is to be understood that the specific nature of the present disclosure is not intended to be restrictive or coniining and that various rearrangements of parts and modications of design may be resorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. A divisional lubricant feeder comprising a body having three closed end cylinders, two of said cylinders having parallel axes and a common dividing wall, pistons in said cylinders, each piston having four lands thereon forming with the cylinder walls a central inlet chamber, drive chambers at the ends of the cylinder and valve chambers between the inlet chamber and the drive chambers, and a main inlet passage extending into the body and communicating at all times with the inlet chambers of the several cylinders, each cylinder having drive passages leading to the next preceding cylinder, outlet passages opening out of its valve chambers, and drive passage inlets from the next preceding cylinder opening thereinto between its drive and inlet charnbers, each valve chamber being of sutlicient axial length to connect its outlet with the adjacent drive passage inlet and each inlet chamber being of sui'lcient axial length to connect the main inlet passage with either drive passage of the next preceding cylinder, the inlet chamber of each cylinder alternately connecting the main inlet passage with one of the drive chambers of the next preceding cylinder while one of its valve charnbers is connecting its outlet passage with the other drive chamber of the preceding cylinder, each drive chamber outlet passage of all but one of the cylinders opening into the next succeeding cylinder on the opposite side of the main inlet passage, said one cylinder having its drive outlet passages opening into the next succeeding cylinder on the same side of the main inlet passage, the outlets from the two cylinders having the common dividing wall being arranged in pairs with at least portions of the outlets of each pair being in alignment whereby the outlets of a pair of outlets may be connected by a hole drilled through said common wall from one outlet to the other.

2. A divisional lubricant feeder comprising a body having three closed end cylinders, one of said cylinders having a lubricant expelling volume equal to that of the other two cylinders, said two smaller cylinders having parallel axes and a common dividing wall, pistons in said cylinders, each piston having four lands thereon forming with the cylinder walls a central inlet chamber, drive chambers at the ends of the cylinder and Valve chambers between the inlet chamber and the drive chambers, and a main inlet passage extending into the body and communicating at all times with the inlet chainbers of the several cylinders, each cylinder having drive passages leading to the next succeeding cylinder, each of the smaller cylinders having outlets opening out of their valve chambers and the larger cylinder having outlets connecting its valve chambers with valve chambers of the preceding smaller cylinder, each cylinder having drive passage inlets from the next preceding cylinder opening thereinto between said drive and inlet chambers, each valve chamber being of sufficient axial length to connect its outlet with the adjacent drive passage inlet and each inlet chamber being of suiicient axial length to connect the main inlet passage with either drive passage of the next preceding cylinder, the inlet chamber of each cylinder alternately connecting the main inlet passage with one of the drive chambers of the next preceding cylinder while one of its valve chambers is connecting its outlet passage with the other drive chamber of the preceding cylinder, each drive chamber outlet passage of all but one of the cylinders opening into the next succeeding cylinder on the opposite side of the main inlet passage, said one cylinder having its drive outlet passages opening into the next succeeding cylinder on the same side of the main inlet passage, the outlets from the two smaller cylinders being arranged in pairs with at least portions of the outlets of each pair being in alignment whereby the outlets of a pair of outlets may be connected by a hole drilled through said common wall from one outlet to the other.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 21,236 Hillis Oct. 17, 1939 2,155,368 Von Wangenheim Apr. 18, 1939 2,183,986 Corey Dec. 19, 1939 2,238,489 Graves Apr. 15, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 628,481 Great Britain Aug. 30, 1949 

